Editor’s note: This continues Jack Dunigan’s series about unsung heroes in the workplace, and the 16 traits they all share.

M y woodshop in the Caribbean used a lot of mahogany. Lots and lots of it. In my business, Dunigan Designs (I sold the business a few years ago, but you can check out the website here), we made doors, windows, custom furniture, closets, kitchens, and molding, so we accumulated a lot of cut-off pieces, called shorts, that could be used in other projects.

Often there are several small pieces in a project, so using a cut-off that otherwise would have been waste means a slightly higher profit margin. Over time, though, those pieces piled up here and there around the shop. They needed organization.

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